exploring people and places one plate at a time

June 15, 2005

Batman & Milk

I am not a fan of blockbuster movies. The formula, the overpromising, it's always a disappointment. However, during summertime I find myself in the theater more often than not watching these commercial ventures. Already I've seen Star Wars III and Cinderella Man (worth the price for the storytelling alone and for Russell Crowe's remarkable performance).

The next flick on my list is today's release of "Batman Begins" which early speculation suggests Hollywood has finally gotten the story right. The other night I was at a friend's house for dinner and picked up a recent copy of Rolling Stone. I was drawn to the 'Got Milk' ad (the milk mustache ones--the uninspired, flat, dull ones for the national milk board). After rummaging around on the Internet I found a press release snippet, "Batman, a masked crusader uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech contraptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city." The ad copy reads: "For the hero in all of us. Milk's 9 essential nutrients give me the strength and energy I need to fight the forces of evil. Not drinking milk? Now that would be a crime."

Actually, it could do just the opposite. If you are going to drink milk, drink organic milk. Recent news stories on Horizon (Salon; reg possibility; thanks to Jen) who has been less than forthcoming on whether or not they pasture their "organic" cows have raised activists' voices. Seems that in a quest to meet demand they are procuring milk that is potentially slipping through a USDA organic-standard loophole. And if cows don't pasture they don't get what they need to produce all the vitamins and minerals that are essential nutrients to the people's health. If Batman only knew he might come fight for those of is who want the facts on what we are eating and drinking.

1 Comment

Many people I know have said that they have "always been suspicious of Horizon". I think that those of us who pay attention to this industry have never really trusted the organic milk from Colorado. Luckily, we have great choices around here. My #1 choice is Straus Organic Milk - organic and local. After that choice, I would encourage the purchase of any Clover product - organic or not. They seem to be a very good dairy and are located in Petaluma.